Hayes Announces Re-election Candidacy

Presiding Circuit Judge Scott Hayes has announced that he is filing as a candidate for re-election as Circuit Judge.
Judge Hayes has dedicated the past 23 years serving the public as a former Associate Circuit Judge, Assistant Public Defender, and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney. In addition, he has served on the Missouri Supreme Court by special assignment. Prior to graduating from the University of Missouri with degrees in Education and Law, Judge Hayes served in the United States Air Force.
The 14th Judicial Circuit is comprised of Randolph and Howard Counties. As the only Circuit Judge, Hayes is not only responsible for handling court cases as diverse as trespass and murder, but he is tasked with the day to day administration and supervision of the Circuit as well. This includes the assignment of cases, clerks, scheduling, budgeting and security coordination. A couple of added tasks have taken some extra time from Hayes’ normal duties. One such task involved the continuity of service during the construction and transition into the new courthouse in Huntsville. “It was important to me that we kept the cases moving through the Court at the same steady pace throughout the construction. With the assistance of our county commission, the lawyers, clerks, and other judges, no cases were delayed because of the construction.” Hayes continued, “I appreciate everyone’s cooperation and assistance on achieving this”. Hayes is especially proud of the fact that it was just recently announced that the Circuit is once again being awarded the Daniel O’Toole award for efficiency. The 14th Circuit has received the award every year since it’s inception.
Another arduous task was to satisfy the new rules and requirements for municipal courts that were a result of the incidents in Ferguson. Associate Circuit Judges in the Courthouses will now hear the municipal cases. “I want to thank Judges Gebhardt and Cooksey and Circuit Clerks Chapman and Flaspohler for taking on this added workload to ensure that all of these new laws and requirements were met.” Hayes said.
Judge Hayes has once again assumed the role as Randolph County Drug Court Judge, a position he held when he created the first drug court in the Circuit. “ I am excited to try and help these first time offenders get their lives back and free from addiction” Hayes adds, “by having a more strenuous program like drug court, we actually hold these folks more accountable than most and provide them with tools to change. Incarceration always remains an option to those that don’t”.
Judge Hayes states,“Through my years as your public servant, I have worked hard to give us all a better quality of life by making the community safer and providing everyone a fair and efficient forum” Hayes added, “I am asking people once again to put their faith in me and vote for me for Circuit Judge”.